Modus Operandi marks an early, open phase in Leonov’s practice, where experimentation within the studio becomes the primary driver of the work. Process takes precedence over resolution, with each piece functioning less as a finished image than as an active site of testing, accumulation, and revision.
Working primarily with acrylic, the surface becomes a field of intervention, allowing for the embedding of disparate materials—hair, organic matter, and found elements, including remnants such as medical infusion labels—directly into the work. Unorthodox mixtures—coffee, tea, dirt —extend the material language beyond conventional limits, while works on paper provide a flexible and immediate framework for exploration.
The series establishes a methodological foundation that carries forward into later work. Rather than constructing fixed compositions, these pieces register a process of emergence, where material, gesture, and lived residue converge—marking a point at which experimentation, confession, and form begin to coalesce.